Socioeconomic factors affecting households' use of indigenous forest management practices in managing non-wood forest products: evidence from forest communities in Nigeria derived savannah

Abstract

Although indigenous forest management practices have been used effectively by local people in the management and conservation of forest resources, these practices are eroding, causing negative consequences on the welfare of the people and their forests. To stem the erosion of the indigenous practices and instead stimulate, preserve, or improve their use, this study determines the socioeconomic factors that drive the household's use of the practices in the management and conservation of plant species of non-wood forest products (NWFPs). The study was carried out in Nigeria derived savannah. Data was collected from 200 randomly selected households in 10 randomly selected forest communities. Multivariate probit model was used to estimate the socioeconomic factors that influence the simultaneous use of indigenous forest management practices by households. Given multiple use of the practices, the result shows that the indigenous forest management practices used by the households are selective weeding (82.98%), controlled harvesting (82.45%), enrichment planting (75.53%), fire breaks (76.06%) and indigenous protective mechanism (45.74%). The majority (71.28%) of the respondents said they managed bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis and wombulu) using the practices, while the lowest proportion (21.28%) managed bush buck (Gongronema latifolium). The result of the multivariate probit model shows that virtually all the indigenous forest management practices are positively and significantly associated and are thus, complements. However, local protective mechanisms and controlled harvesting, local protective mechanisms and selective weeding, and local protective mechanisms and enrichment planting are not significantly associated. Farming occupation significantly increases the likelihood of simultaneous use of controlled harvesting, enrichment planting, and fire breaks as indigenous forest management practices in the management and conservation of NWFP. On the other hand, age significantly reduces the likelihood of the use of controlled harvesting and selective weeding. The study recommends the provision of support for young people who are more likely to be involved in the indigenous forest management practices; support to farmers who simultaneously use the practices, for example, through the provision of credit facilities; and a proper definition of user rights in community forests.

Environmental Communication Based on Local Wisdom in Forest Conservation: A Study on Sentajo Forbidden Forest, Indonesia

“…Each tribe will get the same rights in land management according to the agreement that was made previously. These customary-based traditional forest management practices are accumulated and passed down from generation to generation, and are used by various cultural and ethnic groups to manage the resources they rely on (Chukwuone et al, 2020). Forest management practices and community-based communication reflect the knowledge and wisdom of local indigenous peoples.…”

“…Several studies show that customary forest management practices have been effectively practiced by local communities in the management and conservation of forest resources (Chukwuone et al, 2020). Community Based Forest Management also requires complex governance arrangements between communities and collaborating partners (Kamelamela et al, 2022).…”

“…The concept of local wisdom is the basis for explain environmental communications and customary forest management or conservation practices. Local wisdom is defined as knowledge collected by local or indigenous people over several generations living in a particular environment and updated by each generation to guide their interaction with their environment (Chukwuone et al, 2020). Several studies emphasized the role of local wisdom-based communication in conserving forests for environmental sustainability (Bakti et al, 2017;Gunathilaka, 2020).…”

An Indigenous Based Forest Management for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Reducing CO2 Emissions in Pelalawan District, Indonesia

“…Forest management practices based on local wisdom are more oriented towards sustainability by maintaining production capacity across generations [8]. The application of indigenous knowledge integrated with the appropriate application of modern management and technology will increase the sustainability of forest management [9]. Indigenous knowledge with a proper management system can provide effective solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation [10].…”

Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) applied to evaluating the forest management approaches

“…The forestry plan is strongly influenced by both forestry project staff and beneficiaries in the forest area (Parrotta et al 2016). While the primary aim of the forestry project staff https://doi.org/10.17221/27/2022-JFS appears to derive much benefit from wood industrial utilization, the resources meanwhile are favourable for the beneficiaries (forest dwellers and local communities) who were traditionally using forest resources in order to meet their living needs (Chukwuone et al 2020).…”